The Best String Cheese in America is Made in Oregon

All the Oregon Cheese Wins at the American Cheese Society’s Annual Competition

 Portland, Ore. – Oregon artisan, farmstead, and specialty cheesemakers took home 14 medals, including blue ribbons in five categories; and Don Froylan Creamery’s Liliana’s String Cheese defended its title for best string cheese at the American Cheese Society’s (ACS) 2024 Annual Cheese Competition.

The awards were announced July 11^th at the ACS’s Annual Conference in Buffalo, New York. Five Oregon cheesemakers earned honors and Oregon cheeses landed repeat wins in two categories. Face Rock Creamery’s Peppercorn Harvest Clothbound Cheddar won 1^st place in its category for the third year in a row. Don Froylan Creamery won first for Liliana’s String Cheese, repeating their win from 2023, and solidly earning the title of Best String Cheese in America. “This cheese was created with love for and named after our daughter Liliana. You can come and see it stretched by hand every day at our tasting room in Salem,” beamed Francisco Ochoa, owner and cheesemaker at Don Froylan.

There were a total of 1,596 products entered by 228 companies from North and South America in this year’s competition, the nation’s largest. A list of Oregon’s awards is below, and a full list of winners can be found here.

The public will be able to taste this year’s winners from Oregon and beyond at Portland’s celebration of cheese and all things that go with it, The Wedge, September 28^th at Alder Block. Other opportunities to taste competition winners and other delicious Oregon cheeses are at our retail partners statewide during Oregon Cheese Month in September, at the Oregon Cheese Festival in Central Point, and at creameries around the state on the Oregon Cheese & Food Trail.

2024 American Cheese Competition Awards

Oregon Winners by Category & Subcategory

Cheese Curds

2^nd: Plain Cheddar Curds, Face Rock Creamery, Bandon

Cheddar aged 24 months through 47 months, all milks

2^nd: Tillamook Maker’s Extra Sharp White Cheddar 2021, Tillamook

Cheddar aged 24 months through 47 months, all milks

3^rd: Tillamook Maker’s Extra Sharp White Cheddar 2014, Tillamook

Soft-Ripened Cheeses, cow’s milk

2^nd: Butterbloom, Briar Rose Creamery, Dundee

Hispanic fresh cheeses

1^st: Don Froylan Queso Panela, Don Froylan Creamery, Salem

Hispanic cooking cheeses

2^nd: Don Froylan Queso Oaxaca, Don Froylan Creamery, Salem

String cheese (Mozzarella types)

1^st: Liliana’s String Cheese, Don Froylan Creamery, Salem

Feta

1^st: Fata Morgana, Briar Rose Creamery, Dundee

Smoked Cheddars

2^nd: Smokey Cheddar, Face Rock Creamery, Bandon

3^rd: Tillamook Hickory Smoked Extra Sharp White Cheddar, Tillamook

Cheddar with Flavor Added

1^st: Peppercorn Harvest Clothbound Cheddar, Face Rock Creamery, Bandon

American Originals with Flavor Added

2^nd: Tillamook Spicy Habanero Jack, Tillamook

Dry Jack

1^st: Cocoa Rubbed Dry Jack, Walla Walla Cheese Co., Milton-Freewater

3^rd: Tillamook Monterey Jack, Tillamook

Founded in 2006, the Oregon Cheese Guild is a collaborative effort to increase awareness of Oregon’s artisanal cheeses, create educational opportunities, and provide a platform for cooperation and shared resources among Oregon cheesemakers.

www.oregoncheeseguild.org